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Web Apps

A web application is an application that is accessed by users over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported programming language (such as JavaScript, combined with a browser-rendered markup language like HTML) and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.

Web applications are popular due to the ubiquity of web browsers, and the convenience of using a web browser as a client, sometimes called a thin client. The ability to update and maintain web applications without distributing and installing software on potentially thousands of client computers is a key reason for their popularity, as is the inherent support for cross-platform compatibility. Common web applications include webmail, online retail sales, online auctions, wikis and many other functions.

In earlier computing models, e.g. in client-server, the load for the application was shared between code on the...

In the latest video of our Ask a Dev series, web developer Jake Riesterer discusses ways to make your web app update in real-time, as well as how to make animations run more smoothly on mobile devices. "Using things like server-sent events and WebSoc...

Web applications need to look great and perform well, but how do web developers strike a balance between form and function? For the latest installment in our Ask a Dev series, web developer George Henderson explains why leaner designs increase web ap...

Taxpayers in the United States are all too familiar with governments gobbling up about a third of their paychecks. But what actually happens to all that tax money may not be as familiar. A technology startup called Outline is building a tool to help ...

You're a young, web savvy go-getter with a penchant for sharing your feelings online. You have a large social following that trusts your expertise in all things Internet. To an outsider, you seem to be on top of the world. But beneath your hip, techy...

Now that you've written your eulogies for Google Reader, it's a good time to remember that Google has an abundance of other resources that may not be as popular but still deserve a spotlight. We rounded up some lesser-known Google tools and applicati...

There's a reason the Evernote logo is an elephant. Because when used correctly, this helpful, versatile, free app will make sure you never forget anything ever. Just like an elephant. If you're unfamiliar with Evernote, the app utilizes "notebooks" -...

A new web app from Warner Bros. for the upcoming Man of Steel movie lets users become part of Superman's world -- turning fans of the superhero into children of planet Krypton. The Glyph Creator app, which Warner Bros. exclusively shared with Mashabl...

ZZ Ward, who Fuse TV recently proclaimed as one of 30 must-see artists at South by Southwest, just launched a web app that plots when fans first discovered her. How? The "365 Days of ZZ Ward" app uses Facebook's Open Graph to browse users' Facebook a...

If you could have a mobile Facebook timeline for your appointments, would you use it? If you're bored with your old online calendar, and are looking for a more efficient way to schedule meetings and tasks, it may be time to check out Atlas, a new sm...

Back in the Age of Exploration in the 1400s, the world lived and died on the maps cartographers and adventurers crafted. Relying on nothing but their own ingenuity, grit and know how, this was one of the world's first crowdsourced projects. Fast forw...

Bang With Friends, the service for lusty Facebook users, is going mobile. It raised $1 million this week to help you get more friends with benefits. The influx of cash will be focused on helping you see, from the comfort of your phone, just which fri...

Social video producers just got a powerful new tool. Switchcam Director is a web app that automatically synchronizes footage of an event from multiple cameras and turns it into one tidy interactive video. The idea caught the attention of Dallas Maver...

The most successful athletes and coaches spend hours studying game film, both of themselves and of their opponents. All professional-level and most high-level college teams employ entire crews of specialists to film and break down footage of games. F...

Music can make or break a TV show, movie or even an advertisement. In entertainment media, a perfectly selected song will complement the visuals and dialogue, and enhance the overall impact. If you begin to notice more of those befitting songs in the...

Color is one of the hardest aspects of design to master. The infinite number of combinations means it can be a frustrating process to decide on a palette that perfectly suits your requirements. The color scheme you choose will affect the entire desig...

The Internet has reshaped the music industry. More than ever, musicians can distribute and sell their music without the help of a record label. Those still looking for that traditional "big break" in the form of a record contract, however, are probab...

Nellie Akalp is the CEO of CorpNet.com, an online legal document filing service, where she helps entrepreneurs incorporate or form an LLC for their new businesses. Connect with Nellie on Twitter or visit her free resource center. Spring is in full bl...

So you have your website set up with all the necessary features, but what about customer feedback? You have to be prepared to field the questions and concerns of your users, and nothing really does that better than a form. In one simple form, you can...

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Small business and startup employees are constantly on the go. They need q...

Jason Lemkin is vice president of web business services at Adobe and former CEO of EchoSign. His operational experience spans the business development, sales, legal, human resource and finance fields, and he is an acknowledged expert in the field of ...

Rachael Gerson spearheads the Analytics division at SEER Interactive. Follow her on Twitter @rachaelgerson. Over the past eight months, Google has steadily released one revolutionary new feature after another. On March 17, the company announced a new...

If you spend half as much time gift shopping as you spend on Facebook, my guess is your holiday shopping would already be finished. So, why not combine the process? Many of the apps below produce personalized gift suggestions for your Facebook friend...

I became forever terrified upon discovering "Take This Lollipop," an interactive video that launched two weeks before Halloween, yet still continues to haunt millions on the Internet. After giving the application permission to access my information (...

Ari Meisel is co-founder at Less Doing, where he works on making every task in life and business more efficient. He used self-tracking to overcome Crohn's Disease and compete in Ironman France. You can follow him on Twitter @liontex and read his blog...

Leo Widrich is the co-founder of Buffer, a smarter way to publish tweets and Facebook posts. He writes more about Twitter tips and tools on the Buffer blog. Follow him on Twitter @LeoWid. When exactly are your best times to tweet? With over 200 milli...

Gaurav Dhillon is the CEO of SnapLogic, makers of cloud and on-premise integration products. Gaurav is the former CEO of Informatica. Companies everywhere have jumped on the Salesforce.com bandwagon, reaping the benefits of this CRM solution. But why...

So you're getting an iPhone 4S. Fantastic. But with more than 500,000 apps in the App Store, finding the best ones is no easy task. Mashable is here to help. We've compiled a short list of our absolute favorites. Here you'll find social standbys, top...

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. There are a lot of times and a lot of reasons why you might be stuck tryin...

As we continue to work through our Angry Birds addiction, this playful infographic offers some consolation. We're not alone in our attraction to flinging the flying fowl, but would like some answers, and this infographic is happy to oblige with lots ...

It's New York Fashion Week, which means designers are unveiling collections that might not hit stores for up to six months. Chances are, come late winter many of us will forget our favorite skirt or handbag we promised we'd pick up as soon as it arri...

Google will discontinue news-reading tool Fast Flip, to shift resources to its more widely used products. It will be removed from Google News and Labs in the coming days, though its approach to web content display will be integrated into other tools,...

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